For Minos, learning itself was a happy event, so regardless of what Mister Uklend taught him, he was willing to learn.
The week passed quickly from Minos's perspective, and it was the happiest he had ever been, finally learning just how big the world was, and how much there was still left to learn.
The picture painted by Mister Uklend was a grand one, and Minos couldn't wait until he got older so he could explore this amazing world himself!
But while the week passed peacefully for the villagers, a storm was forming around them that they weren't even aware of.
…
Class ended as usual, the children all going home happily, and Minos and Mister Uklend started their lesson as they always did.
The lesson went on peacefully, Mister Uklend teaching Minos about the calendar system and how it worked, but after half an hour or so, the earth started trembling slightly, as if a stampede was heading directly towards the village.
Mister Uklend's soft eyes suddenly went firm, a sharp glimmer forming in them. Minos noticed this change of his expression, realizing that this noise wasn't as simple as he thought.
Before the two could even react, a sudden scream came out from the edge of the village. Mister Uklend's face going dark as if realizing what just happened.
"What happened?" Minos asked, knowing Mister Uklend knew something he didn't.
Mister Uklend had long since stopped treating Minos like a child, knowing he was far more mature, so he decided to be honest.
"My enemies, they found me." He said calmly.
"Enemies? You had enemies and you still came here. Why would you put our lives at risk like that?" Minos asked angrily.
"I'm sorry, I wanted to leave, but my body no longer has the strength." Mister Uklend said honestly with a sigh, causing Minos's anger to slightly dissipate.
"What are we supposed to do?" Minos asked with anxiety, worried about his parents.
"I'm the one they want, and while I can't fight them with my condition, I can at least try to guide them some place else and give you all the chance to escape." He suggested.
"You'll definitely die if you do that!" Minos said, not liking this solution. Despite Mister Uklend having brought this catastrophe upon them, he had still taught Minos so much, and he didn't want to just watch him die.
"It's fine. To be honest, I'm probably not going to survive much longer with my current injuries, so I might as well put what's left of my life to good use." Mister Uklend said firmly, not giving Minos a chance to argue.
Despite Minos's intelligence, he simply couldn't come up with a better strategy in their current scenario. Had Mister Uklend's conditions been better, or the villagers stronger, there may have been a way out, but right now, they were far too weak.
Without Minos even realizing, a strong desire for strength started to form in his heart. It was only now he realized that sometimes intelligence wasn't enough, and only strength could guarantee safety.
"Let's do it." He finally said, knowing he didn't have any better ideas.
With the two agreeing, they quickly left the small classroom. Despite their conversation being short, the bandits had already caused quite a bit of damage.
Minos looked out at the village, at the crops that had been lit on fire, and the few corpses lying lifelessly on the ground.
His face went pale as the cruelty of the world finally set on him. Without even saying a final goodbye to Mister Uklend, he quickly ran back home, praying that the bandits hadn't found his parents.
He soon arrived back home, but the moment he noticed the door that had been broken down, his heart dropped. Finding a large stone on the floor, he ran into the house, swallowing his fear into the pits of his stomach.
Despite him already mentally preparing himself for what he may see, the image still left him broken, his eyes beading with tears and his heart filled with rage.
On the floor, his father's lifeless body laid face first, a deep cut running across his back, not even giving him a chance to run before striking him down.
Beside him was his mother, who was still tussling with the bandit. The bandit had a lecherous look on his face as he wrestled Trin to the floor, sparing her life only for what he was about to do.
Minos's face went red in rage as he saw this, and the fear and sadness that had been clouding his brain was completely replaced with fury.
Running towards the bandit, he slammed the heavy rock directly on his head. The bandit could only turn his head around slightly as he heard the whooshing of the rock, but he was no longer capable of dodging.
Like a stone meeting an egg, the bandits head caved in under the heavy weight of the rock, but Minos refused to stop.
Banging over and over, until his arms were completely numb and he was breathing heavily. By the time his consciousness came back to him, the bandit's head had been completely reduced to mush.
His mother didn't seem to react at all to Minos's cruelty. She was completely focused on her husband's corpse, her eyes blank and lifeless.
"Mom, we have to run now!" Minos shouted, realizing his mom wasn't normal.
However no matter how long he shouted, she didn't react at all, as if she was dead too. Minos's heart dropped as he saw his usually outgoing mother completely despondent.
Now wasn't the time for him to try and talk her out of it, so he could only grab his mother forcefully, trying to drag her out of the house.
He also lifted his father's body, and dropped him into a small wheelbarrow that the family used for work.
Waiting patiently, he didn't leave right away, instead readying himself for Mister Uklend's que, which didn't take much time.
"You bastards, I'm the one you want, come catch me!" Mister Uklend shouted loudly with a laugh, his voice spreading throughout the entire village.
"Brothers, catch that rat, forget about the villagers!" The bandit chief said with a shout, giving the villagers a slight respite.
As Minos heard that, he also knew his chance came. Pulling his mom with one hand and pushing the wheelbarrow with the other, Minos quickly ran into the forest, using the trees to help his escape.
Despite his exhaustion from fighting the bandit, Minos fought off his tiredness, driving his body to the utmost limit as he ran further and further.
Soon enough he came upon a steep cliff, deciding to take a short break here to catch his breath.
"Minos, can you give me the wheelbarrow for a moment. I want to see your father" Trin suddenly said, catching Minos off guard.
Looking up, he realized his mothers eyes were still blank, but he was just happy to hear her voice, so he naturally didn't argue.
Trin took the wheelbarrow from Minos, looking down at her husband's pale and lifeless face. Her blank eyes were soon replaced with despair and sadness.
"Minos, never forget to smile in the future, your smile is beautiful, and make lots of friends." Trin suddenly said.
Despite being confused by his mother's sudden ranting, he didn't say anything, only nodding in agreement.
"Also Minos, I think you should know the truth. We aren't your real parents, we only picked you up." Trin said, but Minos didn't seem to react much.
"I know." Minos said, having long since realized he looked nothing like his parents.
"It's good that you know, you've always been a smart boy, you can survive no matter what happens, you don't need us anymore." Trin suddenly said, a smile of relief forming on her face.
Minos couldn't help but feel slightly strange hearing his mothers words, feeling like she was trying to say something.
"Goodbye Minos, goodbye son." Trin suddenly said, causing Minos's face to go completely pale as he finally realized what his mother seemed to be leading up to.
Unfortunately he was sitting on the ground in exhaustion, and before he could even stand up fully, Trin pushed the wheelbarrow, throwing herself and her husband over the cliff.
"Mom!" Minos shouted with all his strength, as he lunged towards the cliff as if trying to catch them.
Unfortunately, it was too late, and he could only look down as his parents fell towards the earth, soon disappearing beyond the thick foliage.
Maybe it was a good thing that the trees blocked his view, making it impossible for him to see the end results of such a plummet.
But sometimes intelligence was a curse, and while he couldn't see their bodies, he knew such a fall was impossible to survive, guaranteeing their deaths.
He could only hang lifelessly over the cliff, his arm still dangling down as if wishing that his parents would suddenly reappear within his reach, and he could pull them back up.
But there were no miracles to be had today, and Minos could only lay there in silence for hours, his mind blank and his heart empty.
The sun soon set, but Minos still laid there, not moving even an inch. Darkness set upon him, yet compared to the void in his soul, it was bright in comparison.
A few days passed with Minos not reacting, his eyes still blank and his face lifeless. The only proof of his life was the weak pumping of his heart, which seemed to never give up no matter what happened.
He waited for days, imagining that his mother would suddenly walk out from among the trees, that his father would actually be fine, and recover completely, but nothing happened. No matter how long he waited, they weren't coming back.